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<title>A Thousand Thoughts by a-barefoot-hobbit (aredhel_of_gondolin)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29201721">A Thousand Thoughts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aredhel_of_gondolin/pseuds/a-barefoot-hobbit'>a-barefoot-hobbit (aredhel_of_gondolin)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute, Drabble, Short One Shot, a peek into our hobbit's mind, bagginshield</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:02:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29201721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aredhel_of_gondolin/pseuds/a-barefoot-hobbit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A short glimpse of what goes on in our hobbit’s mind when he saves Thorin</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Thousand Thoughts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
<p></p><div class=""><p>A thousand thoughts swirled through Bilbo’s head. A million different scenarios, each depicted in vivid colors and emotion. The world seemed to stand still and all Bilbo could feel was horror. </p></div><div class=""><p>Horror that Thorin was behaving like such a dumbass. Horror that he himself was scrabbling to hold onto a rapidly tilting tree, the bark digging into his fingers as he struggled to keep himself steady.</p></div><div class=""><p>Horror that Thorin was about to die. </p></div><div class=""><p>In retrospect, it was probably only a few seconds that Bilbo watched. But in that moment he felt the weight of an entire lifetime. In his mind’s eye, he saw the pale orc sweep his weapon down a thousand different ways, a thousand different times. </p></div></div><div class="">
  <p>And as Bilbo fully processed the scene in front of him, the decision was easy. He ignored the pain in his hands and the strain in his shoulders as he hauled himself out of the tree. Behind him, he heard shouts of the dwarves behind him, yelling for him to stop, shouts of <em>No! COME BACK!</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But it was easy to shut down their yells, to compartmentalize their pleas as he raced forward. Looking back, he realized that the desperate run must’ve been frantic enough to cause the cuts on his feet that he only noticed later. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In that moment, he had eyes only for Thorin. So when he reached Thorin and Azog, he had no plan but to barrel into the orc, hoping that his tiny frame carried enough momentum to unbalance him and <em>maybe</em> give Thorin a fighting chance. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Everything after that was a blur. A mess of scrambled emotion and images. Relief, rage, adrenaline, exhaustion, flapping wings, blue sky, passing time. Everything blurred together. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In retrospect, Bilbo didn’t know what came over him. What could’ve caused a genteel hobbit like himself to rush into battle like that? A sideways glance to the massive eagle beside him and the motionless form clasped gently in the claws made his eyes blur. What if he hadn’t been fast enough? </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But there was nothing to be done for it now---even if a thousand voices in the back of his mind insisted otherwise. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>*************************</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The next morning, Bilbo was surprised to wake up and find that Thorin had risen earlier than he had. He quickly got up, packed away his sleeping roll, and made his way over to the dwarf, ready to apologize for his actions. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Thorin beat him to it, wasting no time in turning around and chastising the hobbit.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bilbo felt his mouth going dry as he listened. Each word from Thorin was like a new weight directly on his heart. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But then Thorin looked up, met Bilbo’s eyes, and said, “Never have I been so wrong.” Bilbo’s mouth went dry again, but for a completely different reason. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected Thorin to do <em>anything</em> like this, much less rush forward and draw him into an enormous hug. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bilbo couldn’t help but melt into his arms, warmth filling him at the embrace. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A thousand thoughts swirled through Bilbo’s head. But this time, they were happy. </p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please let me know what you think!! Constructive criticism is always welcome, and requests are open!<br/>also haha this isn't proofread, it's just the result of a midnight idea</p></blockquote></div></div>
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